Teams find tournament beneficial

By Chris Chancellor | For The Olympian • Published October 12, 2008

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OLYMPIA – When Olympia volleyball coach Laurie Creighton helped develop the Capitol City Classic tournament in 1986, it showcased local teams that played each other regularly.

More than two decades later, several South Sound schools won't meet again beyond Saturday's tournament at Capital High School.

Sixteen schools participated and were divided into four pools: Capital, Garfield, North Mason and Wilson; Olympia, Sequim, Kentridge and Bothell; Black Hills, Central Kitsap, Puyallup and North Thurston; and Tumwater, Mark Morris, Gig Harbor and Timberline.

"You really don't get to play teams in the area," Olympia senior setter Brigit Miller said. "We have to go up to Tacoma every game. It's nice to see local teams we don't see."

Tumwater players don't have to travel as far as the Bears, but the Thunderbirds' only opponents in the Class 2A Evergreen Conference within 20 miles are River Ridge and rival Black Hills.

"There's a ton of good players here," said Tumwater senior middle blocker Alex Sele, who has committed to play next year at the University of Idaho. "It's really nice to stay local."

Some schools have discouraged their programs from taking long road trips because of gas prices and the struggling economy. Volleyball teams are allowed to participate in two tournaments per season.

Last month, Timberline coach Krista Manke took her team down to the 10th annual Monarch Challenge in Longview. They car-pooled to reduce costs.

But for Manke, staying local is just one positive aspect of the Capitol City Classic.

"It's a tough tournament," she said. "It's nice to compete in a higher-level tournament."

For Sequim coach Jennie Webber-Heilman, it's worth the 200-mile round trip. That's nothing new for the Wolves, who regularly make hourlong trips as a member of the 2A/3A Olympic League.

"They gave us a bye, so we didn't have to play at 8 a.m.," she said. "That was nice."

Webber-Heilman said her team, which has participated in the tournament the last three years, does it for the competition. She only has three seniors, and feels her inexperienced players could benefit from playing strong competition.

"It's good for our kids to see good competition," she said. "They will know what it's like when we go to districts."

Timberline senior outside hitter Feiloaiga Oloi agreed.

"It's a good way to prepare for other teams in districts and state," she said. "It gives you a better outlook."

Manke said the tournament also allows her to do some midseason experimenting that she might not otherwise be able to do. In a tournament setting — where the outcome doesn't count in the standings — she feels free to look at her players in different spots.

"I would rather try it here than a game situation," she said. "I put someone at right back who normally is a left back. They may show you something you haven't seen before."

It's a variety of these factors that Creighton enjoys about tournaments.

"You get a lot more volleyball in one day than sometimes you get in two weeks," she said. "It's practice for the postseason."